Girl, 9, hit by train in Sioux Falls, SD

November 01, 2009

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A 9-year-old girl is hospitalized in Sioux Falls with non-life-threatening injuries after she's struck by a train on the southeast side of the city. BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas (muh-LONE-ess) said the girl was walking with a friend and a dog on railroad tracks at noon Sunday when an empty grain train traveling about 20 mph hit her. Melonas said the engineer was blowing the whistle and went into an emergency brake application. Melonas said the girl was struck by the cow catcher on the bottom portion of the locomotive. She was taken to a hospital and will be held overnight for observation. Melonas said people should be aware that trains can operate on any track, at any time and in any direction. ___ On the Net: BNSF Railway: http://www.bnsf.com/ Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.